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Navy Cruises to 26-9 Win Over Bucknell in EIWA Opener

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LEWISBURG, Pa. — The Navy wrestling team (2-1, 1-0 EIWA) won seven of the 10 bouts en route to a 26-9 victory over Bucknell (2-4, 0-1 EIWA) Saturday afternoon at Davis Gym in what was both teams' conference opener. The Midshipmen have now won 18 consecutive duals against the Bison and improved to 22-1 all-time in the series.

"This team took big steps over the winter break and responded very well to the challenges of back-to-back competition at the national and conference Level," said fifth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "The men who took the mat today faced a team that was well conditioned and had a game plan to attempt to capitalize on our travel and quick turnaround between events. This was a great time to face this type of adversity I believe the team responded well.

"Overall we set a very high pace in our matches and did not allow any external factors to influence the effort each athlete left on the mat. The team is excited to get back and rejoin the Brigade for the start of second semester academics and the opportunity to compete in Alumni Hall the next two weeks in front of our midshipmen, alumni and fans!"

The Highlights
• Navy dropped the opening match of the day (7-6 loss by Jacob Allen at 125 pounds), but went on to win seven of the final nine matches and never trailed again after that first match.
• Navy's three losses were by a combined four points. Jacob Allen and Anthony Cable lost their respective matches at 125 and 184 pounds by one point each, while 157-pound Quentin Hovis dropped a two-point decision.
• Senior team captain Nicholas Gil, ranked 18th at 141 pounds, captured his 97th career victory with a 5-1 win over Bucknell's Joey Gould. Gil is tied with Steve Kovach (2000-03) for 16th on the Mids' all-time win list and is just three wins shy of becoming only the 16th wrestler in program history to reach 100 career wins.
• 197-pound Joshua Roetman earned a 5-0 victory over Drew Phipps to become the only wrestler on the Navy roster to win all three duals this season. While Roeman is 3-0, heavyweight Thomas Ott is now 2-0 after posted a 5-1 decision over Bucknell's Brandon Stokes.
• Two of Navy's seven wins on the day were bonus-point victories - 149-pound Jared Prince, ranked 17th nationally, earned a 16-1 tech fall over Joey Gould where he amassed eight back points, four each in the first and second periods, and topped four minutes in riding time. After a slow start, 165-pound Tanner Skidgel dominated the second and third periods of his match against D.J. Hollingshead. He rode his Bison opponent out in the second period and went on to pin his foe with 49 seconds remaining in the match.
• Jared Prince earned his first dual victory of the season after dropping tough matches in his first two duals of the year against nationally-ranked foes from Ohio State and Maryland.

More from the Coach
• "Jared Prince was very impressive in his tech fall with a gutsy offensive effort with just seconds to go in the third. That is the habit and practice that produces real results on the big stage."

• "Quenten Hovis put himself in the position to knock off his first nationally-ranked opponent this season. He struggled to get his escape point in the final period and that cost him the match. Strategically we can adjust and improve here, but I was happy to see his talent and competitive fire continuing to come out in his matches."

What's Ahead
• Navy will rekindle a series from the past when it plays host to Hofstra next Sunday, Jan. 13 at Alumni Hall beginning at 5:00 pm.
• While the two programs have met on five previous occasions, this year's match will mark the first time the Mids and the Pride have met since 1974. Navy owns a 5-0 series advantage.
• The Midshipmen will also send a handful of wrestler to the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial next Saturday (Jan. 12) in Millersville, Pa.